NDLEA, Onitsha monarch seek new options for drug war

TO rid Anambra State of illicit drugs, the Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Alfred Nnaemeka Achebe, has declared support and involvement in the war against drug offenders.

This came as lawmakers in the House of Assembly, yesterday, called on Governor Willie Obiano to immortalise former Minister of Information and Communications, Professor Dora Akunyili.

Achebe made the declaration on Monday when the state commander of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Mr. Sule Momodu, led his management staff on a courtesy visit to his palace.

According to him, Onitsha, as a cosmopolitan city, needs additional policing for more positive results.

“Already, the youth in my community had formed an anti-drug club, consisting of graduates and others that crusade against illicit drug usage in the town,’ the monarch said.

“The anti- drug youth club mostly used the long vacation to sensitise the younger ones on the danger of illegal drugs as well as teaching morals that would restore core values of the people”, he said.

Achebe strongly condemned the situation where security operatives leak identity of informants to hoodlums who in turn go after such informants and members of their family.

He recalled an incident when he personally reported a certain hotelier in his domain who was into criminal activities to the security agencies only for the suspect to come some days after arrest and threatened to deal with him and members of his family if he continued with such act.

He charged security operatives to protect informants with utmost secrecy, saying it would go a long way to successfully achieve results in the war against illicit drug peddlers and criminals in the state.

NDLEA commander, Momodu, disclosed that the agency had commenced community policing of drug offenders in the state in conjunction with local vigilante groups.

He solicited advice on how to curb illicit drug business in the area, adding that Onitsha and Anambra State in general had become notorious for drug offences.

He said the trend was for drug traffickers to secure shops in the Onitsha Main Market from where they syndicate illegal drugs such as cannabis sativa.

Meanwhile, the member representing Orumba South Constituency, Princess Nikky Ugochukwu, who also chairs the House Committee on Women Affairs and Social Development, moved a resolution to immortalise Akunyili during yesterday’s plenary.

Ugochukwu described the late Akunyili as an icon who rendered selfless service to the country and made Anambra State proud. He added that her tenure as Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) saved many lives in the country.

“The immortalisation of Prof. Akunyili would spur other citizens of the state to be fully committed to the pursuit of excellence in their areas of endeavour,” she said.

She, therefore, urged the House to implore the Governor to immortalise the late professor, a motion the lawmakers unanimously adopted. Akunnyili died in an Indian hospital on June7, 2014.

The House also passed a resolution asking Governor Obiano to direct the Commissioner for Education, Prof. Kate Omenugha, to review, update and implement the Anambra Vocational /Technical and Certificate Education board law.

The lawmakers said the implementation of the law would enhance vocational and technical education in the state.